Newbury Festival of Light invites community to create lanterns for festive procession

Residents can make traditional willow-and-paper lanterns or create giant sculptures at workshops ahead of the Corn Exchange Festival of Light on 13 December 2026.

Newbury residents are invited to help transform the town centre into a twinkling wonderland by taking part in the Corn Exchange Festival of Light on Sunday, 13 December.

The procession will travel along Northbrook Street before arriving in the Market Place, where visitors can enjoy live music and a festive atmosphere surrounded by lanterns in a variety of shapes, sizes and designs.

Participants should arrive by 4pm, ready for the procession to set off at 4.30pm.

In the run-up to the event, the Corn Exchange is organising lantern-making workshops at 101 Outdoor Arts, welcoming schools, community groups and members of the public.

Sessions will take place on 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December, giving participants the chance to create a traditional lantern from willow and paper to carry in the procession. Standard lanterns take between one and two hours to make.

Those looking for a bigger creative challenge can spend a day making a large sculptural lantern for the Festival of Light 2026.

The ambitious sessions, called Lantern Making for the Brave, will run on 5 and 6 December, with participants working towards creating a giant lantern for the parade. Previous designs have included sharks, hippos, a toucan and a very hungry caterpillar.

All children must be accompanied by an adult at every lantern-making session. Advance booking is required.

For details and bookings, visit cornexchangenew.com/events/festival-of-light-2026.

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